19 replies to this topic

[Ronny]

Hi all,

I went for a trip to Cols house last weekend and found this while we were moving something....








Cheers
Ronny.

[dazzabozza]

Nice. I used to catch them when going up into the hills as a kid. The biggest one would go around stinging/killing all the smaller ones. I'd chop the stinger off so I could handle it like a pet. From memory it would grow back eventually??

[Ronny]

What type were the ones you caught?
Were they bigger than the one I have?

I'm pretty sure the one I caught only gets to about 40mm.

[dazzabozza]

Is the 40mm just the body or including the tail? Mine were pretty small too.

It was pre-teens we I had them. I don't recall them having the black blotching just a light to medium pale brown.

[Robbotheyobbo]

Nice pics Ronny , i got stung on the back a few years ago , the little bugger was in side one of my tank tops , it was about 4-5cm body length , felt like some one sticking a very hot needle in my back , was taken to hospital but only had to stay a couple of hours , the doc craped him self when i showed him i had it in a container , that made the pain go away for a bit , me and my bro used to catch them in the bush around southlake/jandakot when we were kids and lizards and frogs and we had to run really fast from the odd tiger snake aswell

[dazzabozza]

me and my bro used to catch them in the bush around southlake/jandakot when we were kids and lizards and frogs and we had to run really fast from the odd tiger snake aswell

Same here Dale.

Some of my best memories (20yrs ago) were when collecting things like minnows, shrimp and gilgies from local steams. Also trekking through the bush collecting bobtail lizards and field mice. Came across 4x 4' dugite snakes which scared the crap out of us. A local aboriginal man skinned, pinned and salted the skins for us.

We had 13 tick ridden bobtails living behind my friends shed. We left the enclosure open once and they all escaped. You could follow the pitter patter tracks along the fence line until the found the gate that led out to the street. Our neighbours would've found some nice surprises in their gardens lol

Add ants, spiders, skinks, legless lizards, geckos, bees, wasps and hornets to the list too

Daz

[Erich]

Nice Photo's
Your scorpion ID is
Family Buthidae:
Lychas marmoreus

AKA marbled scorpion... a gravid female in the photo.

...They are pretty common around Perth in areas of bushland, but they are cryptic so few people ever see them.

...If you remove the telson (sting) from an adult it will NOT grow back as these animals do not moult after they mature. Very few terrestrial arthropods continue to moult after they become adults.

...A sting from these guys is very painful, but will not threaten the life of a healthy adult. After the pain subsides the area is usually very sensitive to touch - resulting in pins-n-needles like sensation. The pain usually subsides after an hour or so, but the sensitivity can last a couple of days.

There are at least another scorpion 4 species in the hills and two more on the coastal plain; all are either cryptically patterned or live in hidden burrows, so they are also rarely seen.

Cheers E.

[Ronny]

Thanks for the info E,
I was about to ask if anyone knew what it was

Would you happen to know anything about keeping them in captivity temporarily?

I'd like to keep it for a while just to watch it and take more pics but my knowledge on keeping scorpions is quite basic.

[sleepycod]

nasty lil critters would hide in my boots on the cattle stations....suprised they could put up with the stench lol......i hada boring childhood...we just swam with crocs....

[Erich]

These guys are pretty easy to maintain in captivity - but their larger burrowing cousins are completely the opposite story.

Biggest issue with these guys is that they are escape artists - imagine a spiney eel ... capable of climbing the silicone bead line of an aquarium ...

Best is a large wide-mouth Jar - lid with a few small holes for ventilation.
Fill with about 1-2 cm of clean sand and cover with another ~2cm leaflitter, preferably from the place you found it in.

They are pretty easy to feed with small cultured crickets and small wolf spiders go down well. Drop a couple of crickets in the container once a week.

Give the leaf litter in the jar a misting with clean water every 3rd day or so to keep the humidity elevated (but not saturated) and she should live throughout the summer - and drop her babies as well. If she does give birth, then she will carry them on her back until they moult - great chance for very special photo's

Also be sure to keep the container out of reach of youngsters!

Erich

[Erich]

also - if you have a black light (UV) handy - shine it on her at night time - all scorpions fluoresce under UV = even cooler photo's

[Ronny]

Thanks E,

I've got her in a lil container which is about 20x15x15cm with white sand at the moment, I'll have to get some leaves for her to hide in.
But where I found here was on top of a wooden box.

I went and bought some tiny crickets today cos I read they like to gorge on white ants but I couldnt find any around my house (which is a good thing lol)

I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for bubs

Thanks again.

[werdna]

Let me know if you want to borrow a uv light Ronny.
I bought one hoping it would make the colours stand out on some of my fish... doesnt work!


Andrew

[Ronny]

Hmm, might be worth a go taking some cool snaps

When can I grab it?

Thanks Andy!

[werdna]

Anytime after 4:30. Or I may bring it over on the weekend if you like... Good excuse to scope out ya tanks finally!

It just collects dust at the moment anyway.

Just give me a yell when you are thinking of coming in case my selfish boss has me working overtime!

Andrew

[Ronny]

weekend should be fine if you wanna pop round, I got Friday off and Saturday I dont have plans yet (I dont think so anyway lol)

[werdna]

Alright I'll give you a yell if I can come.

They do look awesome under the uv. Saw them at a zoo in Singapore or Penang once.

Andrew

[Ronny]

Damn, just realised, I'll have to take out all the leaves and stuff to get a pic lol.

I was seriously thinking of getting stung by it just to see how it feels lol?

[Global]

Damn, just realised, I'll have to take out all the leaves and stuff to get a pic lol.

I was seriously thinking of getting stung by it just to see how it feels lol?

hahaha, go on ronny, but just make sure someone is videoing it for us all to watch hahaha

[werdna]

I was seriously thinking of getting stung by it just to see how it feels lol?

Feel free to try it when I am there so I can point and laugh!
Just don't expect a lot of sympathy!